Shopify’s Arrive app tracks your online orders on a live map

Now that Amazon's smart-home-synced delivery service is unlocking doors for parcel drop-offs, we never have to worry about missing packages again. For anyone freaked out by the idea of a stranger entering their pad, there's Shopify Arrive for iOS: A free app that taps in to your email e-receipts to provide online-order tracking from over 400 carriers. All the big guns are present, including UPS, USPS, FedEX, DHL, Canada Post, and Amazon -- which should come in handy for those awaiting multiple items (it is the frantic holiday season, after all).

Once set up, Arrive displays your order receipts and shows you live map updates (so you can trace the progress of a parcel like you would an Uber ride). You can also set up push notifications and contact carriers, if a hitch should arise.

We've seen this type of thing before. On iOS alone, Arrive will have to scrap with several rivals, chief among them Slice: A Rakuten-owned app that essentially boasts the same functions as Shopify's newcomer. (And who can forget USPS' bizarre Christmas tree ornament, which had you gawking at a bauble for delivery updates). If there's one thing that may set Arrive apart from its competitors, it's privacy. While Slice is reportedly mining data for consumer insights, Shopify claims it will only use your info to improve the in-app experience.

Neither is this Shopify's first app for shopaholics -- around this time last year, it launched the Frenzy app for flash sales. It seems the company is making good use of its downtime from powering Facebook and Instagram's shopping tools. Now all it's lacking is a digital shopping assistant.